Our History

At Usinger's, Some Things Never Change

The Usinger Family has been making sausage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for over 130
years. Usinger's is a one of a kind, nationally recognized family business devoted
to the craft of sausage making. Feinschmeckers (gourmets) will discover over 70
varieties of old world sausage. From a better bratwurst to an authentic beerwurst,
superior European-style wurst doesn't get any better than Usinger's ... producing
quality sausage products and providing excellence in customer service since 1880.

Usinger wurstmachers are still located on Milwaukee's Old World Third Street, the
site of the original store, where they adhere strictly to the original family
recipes. Unchanged since 1880, these recipes are never altered in order to meet a
competitive price. To the Usinger sausage makers, it is a matter of pride to
maintain their tradition of excellence. Even among members of the meat industry,
the superlative quality of Usinger's Sausage is recognized.

The Historic Factory

Inside Usinger's factory, the tradition and family heritage the business is built
upon still remains. The factory has modern luxuries and technology of today, but
the original ovens and recipes still remain. Any modern equipment was approved
only if it did not change the taste of the sausage. Fritz Usinger, Usinger's
President, carefully oversees production of the hand-made specialties, from the
initial stages, through smoking, packing and shipping.

Historical photographs and relics decorate the staircases, the store, and even the
factory itself. The Usinger elves have been making the sausage since the 1880s.
You may never see them, but you definitely feel their presence when you visit the
store and taste all of the old-fashioned goodness.

Key Dates

1880:

Frederick Usinger buys his employer's butcher shop.

1906:

The plant and offices undergo extensive remodeling.

1930:

Frederick Usinger dies; the business passes to his son.

1953:

Frederick Usinger, Jr., retires; the third generation runs the company.

1980:

The company celebrates its centennial.

1988:

Fritz Usinger, the founder's great-grandson, becomes president.

2002:

Usinger's supplies hot dogs to the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

How it Began

The Usinger's story began in Wehen, Germany where young Fred Usinger, an
apprentice sausage maker, learned from the best wurstmachers. He came to Milwaukee
in the late 1870's with a pocketful of recipes, $400 in cash and his favorite
sausage recipes, which he had learned as an apprentice "wurstmacher" (sausage
maker) in Frankfurt. He had ambition, dreams of a better life and the willingness
to work hard for it. He went to work for Mrs. Julia Gaertner, a widow who operated
a small butcher shop on Third Street. Within a year or so, Usinger had bought out
Mrs. Gaertner, married her niece Louise and moved into living quarters above the
store.

The young couple worked sixteen to eighteen hours a day making and selling their
sausage. Their best customers were saloonkeepers whose trade depended on the
quality of their free lunches. As long as their customers relished Usinger's
sausages, the saloons paid Usinger's premium price.

At the turn of the century, Milwaukee's German aristocracy did their shopping on
Third Street, and the store soon became a popular stop. Before long, the Usinger's
were shipping sausage as far away as New York. While business became so good that
more help was needed, Fred Usinger kept the growth under control, so he could
oversee each step of the sausage making process.

The Usinger's Milwaukee business grew, and before long, they were shipping their
famous sausage across country. Regulation of sausage manufacturers and interstate
shipping was in its infancy, and Fred believed those regulations where necessary
to protect the industry and consumers. Usinger's was one of the first Wisconsin
sausage companies to seek and be granted Federal Inspection.

The Legacy Lives On: Following the death of company founder Fred Usinger
in 1930, his son Fred Jr., oversaw the family business. It was a difficult time
– the country was immersed in depression and then war. During this period,
Usinger's Sausage became one of the earliest members of the Better Business
Bureau, and is still a member today.

Fredrick Usinger III took over leadership of the company in 1953 and remained at
the helm well into the ‘90's. In 1983, he expanded Usingers' Third Street
plant with an addition built on an adjacent vacant parcel once home to the
Metropolitan Building. It was the genial Fredrick who introduced the elves to the
world, and gave Usinger's its current identity.

In the Last 25 Years

Committed to the city that has always been home, in 1994 Usinger's opened a
distribution center in Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood. It was during this
time of expansion in the 90's that fourth generation siblings Fritz and Debra
Usinger assumed control of the day-to-day operations. With an eye on the future,
and a respect for the past, Fritz and Debra embraced the opportunity.

In 1995, Usinger's began using Certified Angus Beef for some of its products. In
2000, Certified Angus Beef was chosen as an official supplier of the 2002 Winter
Olympic Games to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Usinger's then sent its
Certified Angus Beef hot dogs into competition to be the official Olympic wiener.
The director of food services for the games declared he and his committee had
searched to find the "best hotdog in the U.S.," and that turned out to be the
Usinger's product. As a preview, Usinger's sent 20,000 hot dogs to the Summer
Olympics in Sydney, Australia, in 2000. For the 17-day Winter Games, Usinger's
sent 500,000 hot dogs. All the hot dogs were eaten in the first five days! Olympic
spectators were maligned for their greed, and it seemed even the athletes had
consumed more than their share of Usinger's hot dogs. We welcomed the publicity,
and shipped out another 200,000 hot dogs within a week.

In 2004, Usinger's moved a portion of the production to a new facility next to its
Walker's Point distribution center. However, the heart and soul of Usinger's will
always be the original store on Old World 3rd Street, where Fred Usinger formed
the company's humble beginning so long ago.

In July of 2012, Debra Usinger lost her battle with cancer and the company is now
in Fritz's care.

The history of the company, which spans more than a century, shows that there has
always been a Usinger to guide it. Today, fourth generation Usingers lead the firm
confidently into the future, ever-mindful of their heritage of quality, which must
be maintained. For the Usinger family and company employees, “America's
Finest Sausage” is more then a slogan … it's an ideal … a
pledge that they will continue to make only the very best for their customers.